


And We Keep Growing

by orphan_account



Category: Free!
Genre: F/M, also on my tumblr, commissioned piece, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-15
Updated: 2014-05-15
Packaged: 2018-01-24 22:46:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1619726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nagisa hits a growth spurt, which inevitably changes the way Gou approaches him. Other things change too...</p>
            </blockquote>





	And We Keep Growing

**Author's Note:**

> This is a commission piece I did for takin55 on tumblr, a wonderfully patient and kind person who has commissioned me for the second time with this piece!  
> I will never deny that NagiRei is pretty much canon, but NagiGou will always be my first love in the world of free! pairings. I love it and I don't even care.  
> I hope you all enjoy, those of you who read!

Nagisa was getting taller.

Gou realized it first when she went on her tiptoes to kiss him one evening after a date, and could hardly reach his chin. She noticed it when he picked her up and twirled her around and his arms were thicker and stronger than they had ever been. She noticed it when she came face to face with him at practice and found herself staring at his chest instead of his neck.

It was a little bit disappointing, at first, if she was honest. Gou had grown used to having a boyfriend who was only a few inches taller than her petite frame, easy to reach her arms around his neck and pull him down for a kiss, or to go on tiptoe and whisper something teasing in his ear, easy to see his face when she wanted to unabashedly stare.

Now, she had to grab his shoulders and pull him down for a kiss. Now she had to grab his shoulders and pull him down to whisper in his ear or get her fingers into his soft, wavy hair. It was annoying to do, because Nagisa had a tendency to resist any pull Gou put on him out of stubborn habit, so she had to put all her strength into bringing him to her eye level so she could see his face. How had he shot up so much so quickly, she wondered.

But it did have its advantages. Nagisa had taken to sweeping her off her feet, literally, to carry her places he wanted her to go, usually bridal style. Gou loved that, if she were to be honest, being swept up and carried like a princess while Nagisa babbled excitedly about what he wanted to show her. His kisses when he bent down on his own were softer, longer, like an apology for growing out of reach. And when he hugged her, she got to bury her face in his chest and listen to his heart rate spike when she murmured 'I love you.'

It was a literal game of ups and downs most of the time, and Gou's mood concerning her boyfriend's height change during their last year of high school fluctuated often. Still, Nagisa never liked for her to be upset for long and often when she made jabs at him for daring to get taller, he would show up the next time they saw each other with a small gift and a multitude of butterfly kisses, until she laughed uncontrollably under his affectionate touches and gave him a sincere apology for her short-tempered behavior.

This had been when they were only in high school, though, and now it had been over a year since Nagisa's growth spurt both began and ended. Gou had gotten used to his height change and the compensations they both had to make to adjust to it, and Nagisa never teased her about it anymore like he had at first, nor did he resist her when she tugged at his shoulders to make him bend down to her height level.  
When he came to her apartment straight from his college's swim club, hair still drenched, he bent over right away to let her towel him off and run her fingers through his hair, kiss him silly and pull him inside to eat dinner. When Gou visited he and Rei at swim meets, he sat down on the bleachers so she could perch in his lap and be at eye level with him. When they stayed the night anywhere, he made sure to put their heads at the same level wherever they slept so she could kiss him without having to readjust. He always made efforts to make himself smaller in size so that they could reach each other, hold each other and touch each other more comfortably, and Gou did the same by learning to stand on tiptoe more and placing her arms around his neck to be lifted off the ground.

Now, though, Nagisa was several feet shorter than her, and the answer to why was sending her head spinning.  
He was still a bit damp from swim practice, but dressed well for their anniversary date, and now he was kneeling. The box in his hand had opened up to reveal exactly what Gou had expected- a modest, simple looking but still very pretty ring. Her legs shook and her breath froze in her throat.

Nagisa was speaking. She cleared her ears of their excited buzzing to listen.

“Matsuoka Kou,” he started- he had taken to using her preferred name much more often after they got together, especially in serious situations like this certainly was.

“Matsuoka Kou,” He repeated, “I don't have a fancy speech planned out but...You know I love you,” he faltered a little, splitting into a nervous smile, “And we've been friends since we were little, and...well, I ...”

“Nagisa.” She clipped out, holding back the elation in her voice, “Please just ask me.”

Nagisa blurted, “Would you be willing to marry me?”

All thoughts about his height and his kneeling and everything that had led up to this fled Gou's mind, and she dove downward into his arms, crying joyfully a “Yes, of course I will!”

Only to be hoisted up into the air and spun around while Nagisa shouted triumphantly.


End file.
